1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to a method and apparatus for the formation of silver-containing products for medicinal uses and, more particularly, to a method for the production of a stable, non-ionic form of extremely minute “sub-colloidal” particles of pure silver metal in distilled water without the use of any type of added electrolytes or other supportive ligand materials.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the more intriguing and historical, non-industrial uses for silver is found in pharmaceutical and medicinal applications in which the metal, in various forms, has been used by mankind throughout recorded history. Abundant reference is made to colloidal silver products in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman texts. During the plagues in Europe, the royal families prevented infection by collecting and maintaining water stores in silver vessels. In the past, silver miners filed bulk silver into dust, placed the dust into water to settle, and (after decantation) used the resulting silver-loaded clear water for the prevention of diseases. Moreover, the United States Pharmatocopea (USP) and National Formulary (NF) of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries contain multiple listings and formulae for silver-containing liquids and creams, most of which were based upon protein-supported and carbohydrate-supported silver-containing materials. All of these materials were formed from stabilized precipitates of silver in an ionic form.
Currently, the United States Navy distributes various anti-microbial creams and lotions compounded with and based upon protein-supported silver precipitates to sailors going on shore leave. Diluted solutions of ionic silver nitrate (“lunar caustic”) are applied to the eyes of newborn babies throughout the United States. The market literally abounds with solutions of high-concentration (100 to more than 2,000 parts per million) colloidal silver products as well as various types of low voltage DC battery devices for making silver colloids for personal use. Conventional colloidal silver preparations, of which mention can be found in the available literature, are based upon some form of an ionic silver moiety, rather than the un-ionized or non-ionic form of the finely divided base silver metal. These conventional silver preparations also require relatively large amounts of silver content to be effective as an anti-microbial composition. Moreover, the pure silver particles in typical colloidal silver suspensions are too large to be absorbed by human tissue. Many conventional silver preparations contain large quantities of ionic silver in the form of silver salts. Use of such silver preparations can result in agyria, an abnormal condition in which the body excessively absorbs silver salts and deposits them in the tissues. Symptoms of agyria include permanently discolored gray skin and mucous membranes.
A current need exists for a stable, nano-phase, sub-colloidal, non-ionic silver metal hydrosol composition that acts effectively as an anti-microbial and antifungal agent while containing small quantities of silver.